Rowetta's not ready to pack her Satchell yet

SHE was the whip-wielding vixen brave enough to back Madchester bad boys The Happy Mondays. Then, a few Saturdays ago, having disappeared from the public eye along with The Mondays for the best part of a decade, Rowetta Satchell re-emerged as a "barking mad" wannabe, desperate to win a é1m record contract, as part of ITV's The X Factor.

SHE was the whip-wielding vixen brave enough to back Madchester bad boys The Happy Mondays.

Then, a few Saturdays ago, having disappeared from the public eye along with The Mondays for the best part of a decade, Rowetta Satchell re-emerged as a "barking mad" wannabe, desperate to win a é1m record contract, as part of ITV's The X Factor.

Now - with only four episodes to go before the winner is named - the thigh-length leather boots have been replaced by flowing frocks, coy smiles and spine-tingling renditions of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Forget X Factor, this is more like What's My Line? Will the real Rowetta please stand up?

"I'm very emotional, but I do like to come across as a little bit tough," the husky diva admits between rehearsals for this Saturday's show.

"But the truth is that I don't know where I got that tough reputation from.

"Maybe it's because I used to go on stage with a whip. Also, I didn't like groupies - so I probably have a reputation for getting girls off the Mondays' tour bus.

"Some people probably think I'm a bit over the top, but I'm just myself. I don't hide a thing. I could pretend to be really quiet every time the cameras are on me, but I won't do that.

"People look at me and think that I'm trying to stop myself from saying the wrong things. The truth is, I found the compliments at the beginning really embarrassing. It's because it's what I have always wanted - and they say such nice things."

Quickest with compliments for the 38-year-old singer has been judge and mentor Simon Cowell.

It must amuse her that some of the men in her life seem to make the "nastiest man in Britain" seem as menacing as a pantomime dame.

X Factor

Her becoming an X Factor hopeful led the tabloids to have a field-day recounting how Rowetta alleged her former husband had been violent and abusive.

Apart from the kinky sex stuff, she says that most of the unsavoury details which have emerged about their relationship are true.

"Everything he did made me what I am now," she says. "It made me lack confidence for a lot of years.

"I didn't go out to be a big star on my own, for a lot of years, because of him. I was absolutely terrified - not of him - just in general.

"I reverted to being a 15-year-old girl when I left him. I still act like a child sometimes. When I was with him, my personality was totally restrained."

And among relationships after her husband was a brief fling with Shaun Ryder, lead singer with The Happy Mondays, the band which allowed this most unlikely shrinking violet a few nibbles of fame.

Sadly, Rowetta claims that their friendship ended completely after their well publicised massive bust-up.

If past relationships haven't put her off men, maybe she might fancy one with her latest svengali?

"No, it's not like that with Simon," she insists.

"I do get nervous around him sometimes, because, well, it's just that sense of humour thing,,, We've really got a similar sense of humour.

"But, as for fancying him, there's no question of that at all. I have never looked at him in that way. I think he's very charming, though. I think he's lovely. Simon Cowell has given me more support than people give him credit for. He's fantastic.

Believes in you

"If he believes in you, then you are laughing."

Given that we know her a little bit better now, does Rowetta really know why she's doing The X Factor?

"I wanted people to know that I could sing, and they know that now," she adds.

"I hope to get a record deal. I'd just like to have hits on my own and to do concerts on my own. It'd be great to be known as one of the best British singers around at the moment. I want recognition, really."

In her time away from stage and screen, Rowetta turned her attentions to song writing, session work (including a stint with Groove Armada) and tending for a sick relative who, sadly, has died.

As she told the judging panel, The X Factor is probably her last chance of fame and fortune. She says she likes the competition because it allows her at last to be herself.

"I don't have to squeaky-clean," she says, proudly. "I said a rude word on television the other night. This isn't Pop Idol. This is a completely different competition.

"I went to my first audition drunk. If you saw the uncut, you wouldn't believe it - but I got through. If I want to go out, I go out.

"I don't have to watch my Ps and Qs. When I sang Over The Rainbow, Simon told me that I looked beautiful - and I told him to eff off.

"You can take the girl out of Manchester, but you can't take Manchester out of the girl," she adds. "I haven't changed a bit."